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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Monday issued a request for information (RFI) on the government-sponsored enterprises’ (GSEs) single-family pricing framework. NAFCU has continuously advocated for lower guarantee fees for credit unions selling loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Guarantee fees are intended to cover the GSEs’ administrative costs, expected credit losses, and cost of capital associated with guaranteeing securities backed by single-family mortgage loans. It is currently a risk-based pricing system.

The RFI seeks input on the process for setting the GSEs’ single family upfront guarantee fees, including whether it is appropriate to continue to link upfront guarantee fees to the Enterprise Regulatory Capital Framework (ERCF) – which sets risk-based upfront guarantee fees for both GSEs – as well as to set a minimum threshold for an enterprise’s return on capital.

NAFCU recently provided comments to the FHFA on its proposal to amend several provisions of the ERCF, urging the agency to “swiftly implement the bi-merge credit report requirement and the median credit score calculation” and “to implement a pricing specific adjustment of the base risk weight for mortgages originated by credit unions.”

The agency in 2022 began the process to reform the GSEs’ pricing framework and in October announced targeted changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s pricing framework by eliminating upfront fees for certain borrowers and affordable mortgage products. NAFCU in December asked for a delay in the effective date of the changes given implementation challenges, but reiterated credit unions’ support for providing homebuyers with cost savings.

Comments on the RFI are due to the FHFA Aug. 14; NAFCU will review the request, solicit member feedback, and provide the agency with comments.